A Perfect End
by SiriuslyGeorgia
Summary: The last year of Hogwarts is drawing to a close for James Potter. His head is filled with memories of his time at school, moments he's proud of and those he's not. Oneshot.


We wait with bated breaths, eager for the words to spill from the wise man's mouth. We don't listen to what he says before, what he will undoubtedly say after. We wait for our moment of glory, hoping, believing, knowing it will come. The girl next to me squeezes my fingers, knowing how much this means to me. I am about to turn to face her and smile my acknowledgement when the words I crave are announced.

"And in first place: Gryffindor, with a record breaking 3110 points!"

The uproar up and down the table is immense, _record breaking _is something to be proud of for the other years, and they show their house pride with whoops and claps, but it's nothing compared to the seventh-year Gryffindors. All at once, we jump to our feel, yelling and cheering.

As I clap my housemates on the back, I remember the moment we sat in the Gryffindor Common Room on the first of September and made a pact to win the House Cup in our last year, and go out with a bang. And we do.

The first bang is sudden, and happens as Sirius raises his wand to the air, setting off the fireworks we levitated into the uppermost corners of the hall yesterday. Impressed, the rest of the school watches the fireworks as they loop and explode throughout the expanse of the Great Hall. It feels amazing to finally do something so obviously against the rules after a year of keeping my head down and only causing havoc secretly. From the way Sirius, Peter and Remus look, they feel exactly as I do. I know our hard work has paid off, though, as I watch Professor McGonagall lift the House Cup with tears in her eyes.

After a few minutes, the cheering dies down to a level where I can actually hear myself think. My girlfriend wraps her arms around me.

"I'm so proud of you, James." Lily says into my ear. She's standing on her tiptoes.

I raise an eyebrow. "I realise I'm so brilliant that half of those points are technically mine, but overall it was a joint Gryffindor effort."

Quickly, not wanting to display so much affection in public, Lily kisses me on the lips. "For so much more than that."

I'm about to ask her what exactly she means when the food appears on the table, and everyone takes their seats with fireworks still whooshing above. As we eat, Lily and I reminisce over the past seven years with my friends and hers converged as a single unit filled with similar memories and experiences. I learn from Hestia that, in first year, Lily wrote home every single day, and in fourth she finally removed her teddy bear from its previously permanent position on her bed. With each story told about her, Lily's face turns slightly redder until finally her face matches her hair, but she's laughing too, until tears squeeze from her eyes.

"I'm going to miss this place," she announces, piling treacle tart on her plate, "I'm going to miss everything about it."

"Even Madam Pince?" Peter asks.

Lily laughs, and the mere sound makes me smile. "Especially Madam Pince – I'm going to miss the way she screams when I return books late or sneak chocolate into the library."

Remus gasps. "Lily Evans, Head Girl extraordinaire, snuck _food_ into the _library_?"

"I only did it once! It was in fifth year, right before OWLS, and I was going to revise all day straight but nearly had a panic attack when I thought about how I was going to eat if I was staying in the library all day."

The mention of the old Lily, who thought that the most important thing in life was her grades, makes me thankful that we've both matured into people who fit together so well after years of clashing horribly.

After the plates are removed, and I've told the story of Sirius wetting himself in first year, and heard how Mary once set herself on fire trying to magically dry her hair, we make our way out. The rest of the students chatter noisily about summer plans, but those of us who leave the Great Hall for the last time are subdued, our moment of glory over for now.

I grab Lily's hand and lead her away from the crowd. Outside, we sit in the shadow of a tall tree, elongated by the position of the evening sun. Lily keeps hold of my hand and rests her head on my shoulder. Strangely, we're both quiet.

Finally, Lily sighs. "There's just so many memories here. Everywhere I look I can remember something remarkable that happened there, in that exact spot."

"We'll make new memories." I promise. I know it sounds stupid and cliché, but between me, her and all of our friends, we'll make a lifetime worth of remarkable memories.

"For example, under this tree is where you sat and caught that bloody snitch over and over again after one of our OWLS."

I run my hand through my hair. "Yeah, and then suspended Snape in mid-air for no good reason," I point to a spot ahead of us, "right there."

We both relive the event in our minds. I don't like what I see, and I know Lily doesn't either.

"That's why I'm proud of you, James." Lily says quietly.

I'm confused. "For being a bully?"

"No," she explains, "for growing from the boy who did what he wanted just because he could, no matter the impact on anyone else, to the man who dedicated his last year of school to winning the House Cup because he knew it'd be worth it in the end."

"I'm not a man. I'm Head Boy – until tomorrow, at least." Even though I joke to make light of the situation, her words strike me.

"And yet you still retain your wit."

I turn my head so my lips brush Lily's temple and speak against her skin. "You've changed too. Maybe not so radically as I have, but if we'd have gone out in fifth year when I had that weird phase of drawing your initials on everything, it wouldn't have worked, and it would've been your fault as well."

"We would've killed each other," she agrees. "Wait–you drew my initials on everything?"

Have I not shared that piece of information before? "Yeah; even on my exam papers."

Lily smiles distantly; like she's pleased her younger self attracted any attention. "Do you still do that?"

I don't. I haven't in two years, but instead of answering, I pull us both up so we're standing, facing the tree.

Using my wand, I carve my initials first, followed by a plus sign and "L.E". Lily's initials are almost as familiar to my hand as my own, due to the (mostly scribbled out) declarations of obsession all over my work in fifth year.

"There." I say when I'm finished.

Lily shakes her head. I'm struck by the thought that this is a stupid idea. She takes her wand out and carves a heart encasing our initials.

I kiss the top of her head. "You're just as cliché as I am."

"That's why we're together."

"What about my rippling Quidditch muscles?" I ask, mock-frowning.

"Nope. It's definitely how cliché you are."

Lily reaches out and traces her finger over the four letters.

"You're right, you know," she says, "we'll make new memories, and most of them won't involve you being a git."

Offended, I start to rebuff her statement, giving up when I realise she has a point.

She smirks and turns around, pulling me with her. "Let's go join the party Sirius has no doubt thrown."

"Let's make it one to remember." I know it will be, considering the way my friends and I have carefully planned the night in celebration of us winning the Cup (which we knew we'd do).

"Whatever the party's like, I'm never going to forget this day." Lily claims.

I nod in agreement. "And Hogwarts is never going to forget us."


End file.
